Are your workshops suitable for alternative provision settings?

Yes. Our instructors have extensive experience delivering workshops in PRUs, SEMH schools, SEND specialist providers, hospital schools, and other alternative provision settings. Every workshop includes built-in SEND support, adaptive teaching strategies, and scaffolded activities designed to engage all learners regardless of setting.

How do you adapt workshops for SEND learners?

All ten of our workshops include SEND support as standard. We use adaptive teaching strategies, manage cognitive load carefully, and provide visual supports and learning mats. Activities are scaffolded so every learner can access the content and experience success. Schools can share specific needs in advance so we can plan accordingly.

What group sizes do you work with?

We are flexible on group sizes and regularly work with groups as small as 10 to 15 students. In alternative provision settings, we typically run fewer sessions per day with smaller groups, giving each student more individual attention and support. We will discuss your group sizes when you get in touch.

How do your instructors manage behaviour?

Our instructors are experienced in working with students who may present challenging behaviour. The hands-on, practical nature of our workshops naturally promotes engagement and reduces off-task behaviour. We work alongside your staff at all times and follow your school’s behaviour policies. The activities are designed so there is no single “right answer,” which removes the fear of failure that can trigger disengagement.

Do we need any equipment or IT provision?

No. We bring all specialist equipment including robots, drones, 3D printers, laptops, and any other resources needed. Your school does not need to provide any IT equipment or technical setup. We just need a suitable space, access to power sockets, and your students.

How do the workshops support Ofsted requirements?

Our workshops contribute directly to the Ofsted personal development judgement by developing teamwork, communication, resilience, and problem-solving skills. They also support the quality of education judgement through curriculum-linked STEM content. For alternative provision settings, inspectors look for evidence of a broad and ambitious curriculum, and STEM enrichment demonstrates exactly that.

Can we book a single workshop for a small group?

Absolutely. Unlike many providers who require a minimum number of students or a full day of sessions, we are happy to run a single workshop session for a small group. We understand that alternative provision settings often have smaller cohorts, and we price and plan accordingly.

How do we discuss our students’ needs before booking?

When you contact us, we will have a conversation about your setting, your students, and any specific needs or considerations. This might include information about SEND requirements, behaviour strategies that work well for your group, sensory sensitivities, or any other factors that will help us tailor the experience. We plan every visit around the school, not the other way round.

STEM Workshops for Alternative Provision & PRUs

Why STEM Workshops Work in Alternative Settings

Students in alternative provision often thrive when given the chance to work with their hands. Traditional classroom approaches can feel inaccessible for learners who have experienced repeated academic failure or who struggle with conventional teaching formats. STEM workshops offer something different.

Our workshops are built around practical, hands-on activities where students build robots, fly drones, design 3D models, crack codes, and create stop-motion films. The work is tangible: students can see, touch, and interact with what they are learning. This is fundamentally more engaging than a worksheet or a textbook, particularly for students who have become disengaged from education.

Crucially, our activities are designed so there is no single correct answer. Students approach challenges in their own way, make decisions, test ideas, and iterate. This removes the fear of failure that can trigger anxiety or avoidance in learners who have had negative experiences in mainstream settings. When a robot does not do what was expected, that is not a mistake but an opportunity to debug and improve.

Students engaged in a STEM workshop in an alternative provision setting

How We Adapt Our Workshops

Every Hyett Education workshop is designed with accessibility at its core. For alternative provision settings, we make additional adaptations to ensure the experience works for your students.

Smaller groups: We regularly work with groups of 10 to 15 students, giving each learner more individual attention and support from our instructors.
Flexible format: We can adjust session lengths, break timings, and the pace of activities to suit your timetable and your students’ needs. If a group needs a slower pace or more frequent breaks, we accommodate that.
Scaffolded activities: Every activity is broken down into manageable steps with visual learning mats, modelled examples, and progressive challenge levels. Students build confidence through early success before moving to more complex tasks.
SEND support built in: We use adaptive teaching strategies as standard across all ten workshops. This includes managing cognitive load, providing visual supports, offering multiple ways to access the content, and differentiating challenge levels within the same activity.
No IT requirements: We bring all equipment including robots, drones, 3D printers, and laptops. Your school does not need to provide any technology, which removes a common barrier for smaller settings.

We discuss your setting and your students’ needs in advance of every booking. This means we arrive prepared, with activities tailored to work for your group.

Workshops for PRUs and SEMH Schools

Pupil referral units and SEMH schools face unique challenges around engagement, behaviour, and building students’ confidence. Our workshops are particularly effective in these settings for several reasons.

Behavioural engagement: The hands-on nature of our activities naturally promotes focus and on-task behaviour. When students are programming a robot or flying a drone, they are absorbed in the task. Our instructors are experienced in working alongside PRU and SEMH staff and follow your school’s behaviour policies at all times.

Confidence building: Many students in alternative provision have experienced repeated failure in academic settings. Our workshops are structured so that every student achieves something visible and tangible within the session. Building a working robot, printing a 3D model, or cracking a cipher gives students genuine evidence of their own capability.

Teamwork and communication: Most of our activities involve pair or small group work, which develops social skills in a natural, low-pressure way. Students learn to communicate, share resources, and collaborate towards a shared goal. These are precisely the personal development outcomes that Ofsted looks for in alternative provision settings.

Supporting SEND Learners

SEND support is not an add-on for our workshops. It is built into the design of every activity. Our instructors have extensive experience working across mainstream, SEND, SEMH, alternative provision, pupil referral units, and special schools.

In practice, this means we use adaptive teaching strategies and manage cognitive load carefully across every session. Visual supports and learning mats are provided as standard, giving students clear reference points throughout the activity. Activities are scaffolded with modelled examples and progressive challenge levels, so learners work at a pace and level that suits them.

Schools can share specific information about their students in advance, including SEND requirements, sensory sensitivities, communication needs, or any other factors. We use this information to plan the session so every student can access the content, experience success, and develop confidence.

Our full range of ten workshops spans robotics, coding, drones, 3D printing, AI, cybersecurity, electronics, and stop-motion animation. Each one offers multiple access points for different learning styles, whether a student is a visual, auditory, or kinaesthetic learner.

What Schools Say

Our instructors bring years of experience across a wide range of educational settings, including SEND specialist schools, SEMH provisions, pupil referral units, and hospital schools. This is not a sideline for us. We have deliberately built a team that can deliver confidently and sensitively in every type of school environment.

Schools in alternative provision regularly tell us that their students were more engaged during our workshops than in typical lessons. The combination of specialist equipment, experienced instructors, and carefully designed activities creates an experience that feels different from the school day while still delivering genuine learning outcomes.

For settings preparing for Ofsted inspection, our workshops provide strong evidence of a broad and ambitious curriculum, personal development opportunities, and high-quality enrichment. We can provide documentation after the visit to support your evidence base, including learning objectives covered and curriculum links.

How to Book

Booking a workshop for an alternative provision setting is straightforward, and we are flexible about the process.

Get in touch: Contact us to tell us about your setting, your students, and what you are looking for. There is no obligation at this stage.
Discuss your needs: We will have a conversation about group sizes, any SEND or behavioural considerations, timetable constraints, and which workshop might be the best fit.
Receive a tailored quote: We will send you a quote based on your specific requirements. We price fairly for smaller groups and do not penalise settings for having fewer students.
Confirm and prepare: Once confirmed, we will send you a preparation guide covering everything you need to know, including room setup, any information we need about students, and what to expect on the day.

If you are not sure which workshop would suit your group best, we are happy to recommend options based on your students’ ages, interests, and needs. Browse our full workshop range or get in touch to start the conversation.

STEM Workshops for Alternative Provision